Zhao Yang was secretly happy when he heard this, but he still kept his words openly:
"I...I think both Fan Gaoyi and Liang Yingfu have received great favor from you. Especially Liang Yingfu, he is your retainer of the Xun family. Logically speaking, this shouldn't be the case, right? Your Excellency...could there be a mistake?"
Xun Shu coughed weakly for a while, and said with a wry smile:
"This is the fact... I have actually learned the news a long time ago, and... I am fully prepared! But... their methods are even better. Although I escaped from danger once, who would have thought that they would actually
They intercepted me again on the way!..."
When Zhao Yang heard this, he pretended to be surprised and said:
"How could such a thing happen? These two people are really abominable. They have caused such trouble to our Jin country... It seems that they cannot be allowed to stay!"
Xun Shu sighed and said:
"Dr. Zhao, I'm afraid I really can't make it this time... Shen'er... please take care of me in the future!"
Zhao Yang glanced at Xun Shen, Xun Shu's son, who was standing aside, and nodded slightly.
"Please be at ease, Mr. Xun, I will definitely treat you kindly in the future!"
Xun Shu asked Xun Shen to immediately bow and kneel to Zhao Yang and said:
"Shen'er, quickly, quickly thank Zhao Zhongjun."
Xun Shen knelt down and bowed to the ground. Zhao Yang stretched out his hand to support him and said:
"Brother Shen, you're welcome! You and I are the same age, so there's no need to be so polite!"
Later, the two talked back to Fan Gaoyi and Liang Yingfu:
"The two of them have actually done such evil things. Please rest assured, Sir Xun. I will definitely meet with the king and report them to the king in the future to remove them and avenge Dr. Xun!"
When Xun Shu heard Zhao Yang's words, he couldn't help but open his eyes, as if he suddenly thought of something.
He looked at Zhao Yang in horror, but then slowly closed his eyes and sighed:
"This matter... I won't bother Dr. Zhao to take action... I will handle it properly..."
Zhao Yang nodded slightly, stood up and said:
"That's good. Please take a rest, sir. Yang Yang will say goodbye for now. I will come back to visit you when your health improves."
Xun Shu smiled miserably and sighed helplessly:
"Haha...it's just...it may be difficult for you and me to meet each other again..."
Zhao Yang's face was slightly heavy, but he did not stop:
"Don't worry too much, adults, just take care of yourself!"
Immediately, Zhao Yang walked out of Xun Mansion and got on the carriage.
When he was alone in the carriage, he couldn't hold it back anymore. The corners of his mouth couldn't help but turn up, and he suddenly felt very good.
When I returned to the Zhao Mansion, I found Li Ran directly and saw that Li Ran was reading a letter.
Seeing Zhao Yang's half-smiling expression, Li Ran guessed what was going on and put the letter aside.
"Is Xun Shu already dying?"
Zhao Yang smiled and said:
"Sir, you really have a clever plan! Before, you said that Fan Gaoyi and Liang Yingfu would attack that old man. I didn't think so at first. I didn't expect that it would happen so easily! It's really unbelievable!"
Li Ran smiled, picked up the letter again, looked at it, and said:
"Actually, the general doesn't know something! This matter really wasn't done by Fan Gaoyi and Liang Yingfu!"
Zhao Yang said in surprise:
"Oh? Then... who did it?"
Li Ran held the letter in one hand and said:
"I have just received a letter from Guan Cong. It is said that Fan Gaoyi and Liang Yingfu did want to take action before, but Xun Shu is not an ordinary person, so how could he not get the news in advance? Xun Shu had some problems at first.
Be careful, so he actually did not die in the hands of Fan Gaoyi and Liang Yingfu."
When Zhao Yang heard this, he couldn't help but nodded, because the news was indeed the same as what Xun Shu had just said.
But questions arise one after another. Since it is not Fan and Liang, who is it that plots to kill Xun Shu?
At this time, Li Ran continued to speak:
"However, it was precisely because of the assassinations of Fan Gaoyi and Liang Yingfu that all the guards around Xun Shu were led away. In the end, he was intercepted and killed on the way by assassins sent by Guancong!"
"Thanks to Xun Shu's old age and lack of strength, although he could not be killed on the spot, Xun Shu was seriously injured."
"I just don't know how injured Xun Shu is now?"
Zhao Yang said quite firmly:
"I'm afraid Xun Shu will die soon!"
When Li Ran heard this, he immediately smiled and cupped his hands and said:
"Congratulations, general! Once Xun Shu dies, Xun Shen will still be young and unable to control the overall situation. By then, the Xun family will have nothing to worry about!"
…
Sure enough, Xun Shu couldn't hold on for a few days and was seriously injured.
His son Xun Shen inherited the position of head of the Xun clan. Zhao Yang also kept his promise and did not make things difficult for Xun Shen. Instead, he allowed Xun Shen to assume the position of military assistant.
Xun Shen was also a weak man, and since his father's last words were his, he could be said to obey Zhao Yang's advice.
But what no one expected was that Xun Shen's son Xun Yao was very rebellious and would become Zhao's most powerful competitor in the future.
This ultimately led to the downfall of the Xun family and completely kicked off the Warring States Period.
Of course, these things are all things for the future...
Back to the present, Zhao Yang relied on his achievements in conquering Chaoge and Xun Shu's death, so he became the chief minister again justifiably.
At the same time, Zhao Yang also understood very well that the ensuing Battle of Handan would be the key for him to strive for world supremacy as the chief minister of the Jin Kingdom.
A few more days passed like this, and indeed a piece of news came from Jindong.
It is said that Handan was under the mediation of Zhongxing Yin and Fan Jishe, and Qi, Zheng, and Wei once again prepared to gather a large army to defend Handan, vowing to prepare to compete with Jin!
Zhao Yang, after being reminded by Li Ran, had already expected that Qi State would not give up, so he had already contacted Lu State, Wu State and even Chu State.
Today, the Jin State is by no means isolated.
However, for Li Ran, he still had one more important thing to do.
Li Ran came to the prison alone to visit an old friend - Gao Qiang, who was currently imprisoned by the Jin State.
When Gao Qiang saw Li Ran, he couldn't help but feel a little different, but he immediately stood up and bowed his hands.
However, Li Ran didn't get along with him. He just said that he passed by this place occasionally and came here to visit, and used the excuse to start chatting with him directly.
When the two were halfway through their conversation, Li Ran suddenly mentioned some anecdotes about the Battle of Iron Hill.
And Gao Qiang also knew that the Zhao family had defeated the Qi and Zheng coalition forces at Tieqiu, and directly captured Chaoge, a city in Chongyi, eastern Jin Dynasty.
So, he immediately congratulated Li Ran and said:
"Haha, what a joy! I heard that the Zhao family won a great victory in Tieqiu. It seems that Mr. Ziming's contribution is really not small! But I don't know how much reward the Zhao family gave to you?"
As the saying goes, "A gentleman is known for his righteousness, and a villain is known for his benefit." In the eyes of the world, the reason why Li Ran was determined to help Zhao Yang was because Zhao Yang had promised Li Ran unexpected benefits.
But Li Ran was too lazy to argue with him, and was not humble in front of him. Instead, he replied rather proudly:
"Haha, not much. Master Ziliang is really joking. However, Master Ziliang only knows that the Zhao family has won a great victory, but do you know that the doctor Guoxia of Qi State led his troops here before, but then he
Why did you suddenly choose to withdraw your troops? Can Master Ziliang guess the reason?"
Gao Qiang said with a blank look on his face:
"Oh? I don't know why?"
Li Ran sneered, stepped forward and whispered softly:
"It's a vertical bull!"
When Gao Qiang heard this, he couldn't help but take a few steps back, and said with a surprised look on his face:
"Ah? Is it him? How did he make Guoxia withdraw its troops?"
Li Ran laughed scornfully again and continued:
"Haha, why is this so difficult? He only needs to pretend to be ordered by Tian Qi to harm the prince, and deliberately leaks the news. When Guo Xia hears this rumor, he will definitely believe it!"
"I shouldn't have told you this today, but I think it's impossible for Master Ziliang to return to Qi State. Even if he did, no one would believe this! So I let you know this,
It’s not a problem.”
Gao Qiang said dullly:
"By the way, you...what exactly do you want to do with me?"
Li Ran said calmly:
"My lord, there is no need to panic. Li will take care of everything in the future!"
Gao Qiang's eyes couldn't help but light up:
"Could it be that I, Gao Qiang, will ever see the light of day again?"
Li Ran said:
"Master Ziliang is really too pessimistic. I, Li Ziming, am here and I have met Master Ziliang. How can I embarrass you?"
Li Ran looked like a villain who had succeeded, and he stretched out his hand as if he was asking for something. There was greed in his eyes. This made Gao Qiang believe in Li Ran's words even more.
Afterwards, Xun Shu groped around all over his body, and finally took out a goose-headed jade belt hook from his waist, and handed it to Li Ran and said:
"This jade hook is priceless and is my favorite thing. Today I will give it to Mr. Ziming to express my feelings!"
"Someday...if I really come out of this place, I, Gao Ziliang, will definitely reward you sir! I will never break my promise!"
Li Ran smiled slightly, took the "bribe" and prepared to get up and leave the prison.
Before leaving, Li Ran suddenly turned around and said rather mysteriously:
"Oh, by the way, as your friend, Li Ran has something to say here! Please remember, Mr. Ziliang, that if you see the light of day again one day, you must not return to Qi, otherwise... your life may not be saved.
!”
After Li Ran finished speaking, he left the dungeon with a mean smile on his face.
And his operation also made Gao Qiang mistakenly believe that Li Ran's purpose was to solicit bribes, and he believed what Li Ran had just said.
And Li Ran did "keep his promise" and ordered his people to deliberately relax the prison where Gao Qiang was imprisoned.
After Gao Qiang saw the "flaw", he ran out of the prison without stopping.
But even after he escaped, he did not listen to Li Ran's "advice" and instead ran directly to Linzi.